Uzma Khan’s lawyer withdraws from case after reported settlement
LAHORE: Days after a local court issued the arrest warrants for the three women who attacked actress Uzma Khan and her sister, reports emerged on Monday that both parties have settled the matter out of court. Meanwhile, Uzma’s counsel Khadija Siddiqui also disassociated herself from the case. “My entire struggle has been against lawlessness and I want the law to be equal for everyone,” she said. The court also issued notices to the SHO concerned and sought the case record on the next date of hearing. The ladies could be seen hurling abuses at Uzma and her sister while threatening to have them ‘picked up by intelligence agencies’ as well.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 20:15 UTC
Govt increases petroleum levy by Rs6.29
ISLAMABAD: The government has deprived the customers of reaping full benefit of the declining global oil prices by increasing petroleum levy on petrol by Rs6.29 per litre for June, Pakistan Today has learnt. Sources said that instead of letting customers enjoy the full benefits of the declining oil prices in the international market, the government increased the petroleum levy to minimise its revenue losses. They said that ‘record high’ petroleum levy was increased on the recommendation of the Finance Ministry to increase government’s revenue by Rs6 billion in June and to meet shortfall of Rs188 billion. They added that for the first time in the last 15 years, the ratio of petroleum levy on POL products, especially petrol, is higher than ever, however, the Finance Ministry, Petroleum Division and other concerned departments are yet to make the notified rates public. However, it increased high speed diesel by five paisa per litre effective for the month of June.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 19:30 UTC
SSGC deputy managing director passes away
KARACHI: Naeem Akhoond, the deputy managing director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), passed away in Karachi on Monday. His family took him to South City Hospital on Sunday but the administration refused to admit him and his family started searching for other hospitals. However, when his condition deteriorated on Sunday night, they took him to South City Hospital once again and were told that they would only admit him if Rs1 million were deposited in advance. The family deposited the amount and admitted him to the hospital but he could not survive and passed away on Monday afternoon.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 19:18 UTC
Child maid injured in PK-8303 crash dies
KARACHI: A 12-year-old girl, Naheeda, who was injured in the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) most recent plane crashed in a residential area passed away here on Monday. At least 84 bodies of the PIA plane crash victims have been identified and handed over to their families. “Nine bodies have been kept in the Edhi morgue while 4 in Chippa morgue,” he said. Furthermore, the visiting team of French experts that arrived here on May 26 to extend assistance in the PIA plane crash (PK-8303) probe returned to France on Monday morning upon completion of their task. Except for two survivors, all 97 passengers and crew members of the aircraft were confirmed dead.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 18:22 UTC
Life’s struggles
Most times life sucks, and can get really annoying that you get frustrated, most times it is beautiful that you wish to keep living forever. There are plethora of people on earth each person with its own hurdles to take and its beautiful moment to experience. The most important thing is to make each moment count…the good and the bad times. Life has its ups and down but it is your decision to make each moment worthwhile, get out of your self and observe the existence .There is happiness. Joy and there is also sadness,sorrow.yet humans always look for a way to cope and deal with life’s Issues.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 18:00 UTC
1,402 new coronavirus cases, 22 deaths in Sindh, says CM
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah disclosing daily situation report of coronavirus on Monday said that the new month of June started with 22 deaths and detection of 1,402 new cases across Sindh. Giving details, the chief minister said that 6,289 samples were tested which resulted in 1,402 new coronavirus cases that constituted 22.3 per cent. According to Shah 22 more patients succumbed to the virus, lifting the death toll to 503 that came to 1.7 per cent. Giving district-wise details of the cases, the chief minister said that out of 1,402 cases, 1,028 belonged to Karachi. According to the chief minister, 48 bodies have so far been identified through DNA while one sample was yet to be matched.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 17:50 UTC
Renowned writer Dr Asif Farrukhi passes away
Pakistani writer, teacher and critic Dr Asif Aslam Farrukhi passed away on Monday at the age of 60. Dr Farrukhi was born in September, 1959. He was the son of distinguished Urdu scholar, poet, researcher and writer Dr Aslam Farrukhi who passed away after a prolonged illness in 2016. In 2014, Dr Farrukhi joined Habib University in Karachi as an associate professor and the director of the Arzu Centre for Regional Languages and Humanities. Dr Farrukhi founded the Karachi Literature Festival with former Oxford University Press managing director Ameena Saiyid.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 17:20 UTC
PPP seeks NA debate on plane crash
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly Secretariat seeking a debate in the House on the Karachi plane crash incident. The motion was submitted by Dr Nafisa Shah, Shahida Remani, Naz Baloch and Nasiba Channa. The motion demanded a debate on the issue after suspending routine agenda of the session. It added that 97 precious lives were lost in the crash, which is the fourth such tragic incident in the last 10 years. The motion also called for a debate on the performance of Civil Aviation Authority and Pakistan International Airlines.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 14:55 UTC
New PEMRA rule requires channels to bring only qualified astrologers to discuss COVID-19
A new regulation by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) requires for the television channels to bring only qualified astrologers to discuss the Corona virus. “Too much inaccurate information is making its way to the viewing public, leading to a lot of misinformation,” read the Pemra notification. “To this end, we now require for channels to only allow astrologers certified by the Pakistan Astrological Council and, for older astrologers, either the National Zodiac Congress and Anjuman-e-uloom-e-ujoom, prior to 1976, before they were merged into the PAC.”“Only accurate astrological information should be allowed to be communicated to the public in these uncertain times,” read the circular. The information has been met by indifferent response by the medical community. “Look, if there is such a thing as ‘certified homoeopathic doctor,’ then you might as well have ‘certified astrologers,” said Dr Fehmida Hassan, chairperson of the Pakistan Medical Association.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 12:33 UTC
Airbus team returns to France with voice, data recorders
KARACHI: The team of Airbus experts investigating the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane crash departed for France on Monday via a special flight. The 11-member foreign team, which had landed in Karachi on Tuesday to offer help in the ongoing probe, took with them the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and samples from the wreckage of the crashed jet. Another team of experts in France will investigate the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. A team of PIA’s Aircraft Accident and Investigation Board’s (AAIB) reportedly also accompanied the experts back to France. However, the engine will be extracted and transported under the supervision of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) construction experts on Monday.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 11:26 UTC
Sindh to follow Centre’s coronavirus strategy: spokesperson
KARACHI: Sindh government spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Monday said that the provincial government will implement the federal government’s strategy to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Murtaza said: “Today CM Murad attended a National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) meeting at 10:00 am. He will also meet the prime minister and others later today to present his point of view. “Irresponsible statements by the government have resulted in a spike in both new cases and deaths,” the spokesperson added. Sindh reported 1,402 positive cases and 22 deaths during the past 24 hours, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 10:49 UTC
Name’s matter, even in the stock market
Last week I was talking to a fund manager from Singapore, and I mentioned to him that until 2008, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (then called Karachi Stock Exchange) used to have daily traded volumes of around $500 million. I told him that currently there is no leverage available in the market for share financing. This is why the daily traded volumes have shrunk by more than 90% to less than $50 million. He wrote that the daily traded volumes on the KSE were greater than many East Asian markets combined. One of the speakers – Khalid Mirza – identified phasing out of badla financing as a policy mishap which shrunk the equities market in Pakistan.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 06:56 UTC
Pakistan’s equity markets are getting more sophisticated. Will investors notice?
March 24 should have technically been a good day for the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The comparison with Bangladesh is made especially surprising by the fact that the Karachi Stock Exchange, the largest predecessor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, was founded in 1949, a full five years before the Dhaka Stock Exchange, which was founded in 1954. “That’s a loss that really lies with our predecessor, the Karachi Stock Exchange,” said Farrukh Khan, the Pakistan Stock Exchange CEO. It really is an essential for a stock market, for capital markets to have. It [the Karachi exchange] used to be an exchange that was owned by its members, like other global stock exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange.
Source:Pakistan Today
June 01, 2020 06:56 UTC
Punjab police personnel bear brunt of pandemic
Reportedly, more than 100 police personnel, including some senior officers, went into isolation after contracting the virus. He said three police personnel named Shams, Ramzan Alam and Rao Javed had been martyred due to coronavirus. The SP Security in the DIG’s office also contracted the virus immediately after Eid and went into isolation. After this, more than 100 personnel serving at the office were tested and their reports are yet to come. He maintained that coronavirus has been confirmed in about 70 personnel in the Police Lines, of whom about 30 had recovered.
Source:The Express Tribune
May 31, 2020 23:03 UTC
Locust attack may cause $8.71bn loss to economy: expert
KARACHI: Locust attack may cause a loss of $8.71 billion to Pakistan’s economy during the summer if 75 per cent of the standing crops are destroyed, senior agriculture scientist Dr Chauhdry Inayatullah warned on Sunday. Speaking during an online lecture on locust attack and issues of food security, he said that this year, the locust attack is severe and coordinated efforts of the federal and provincial governments department are required to eliminate the swarms of locusts which are now in billions. He said that it is estimated that if 25 per cent crops are damaged during the current season then Pakistan would face a loss of $2.9 billion and if 50 per cent crops are eaten up by the insects then the loss would be around $5.8 billion. He said that controlling desert locusts when they are in swarms and warning other countries early is the key to success. He further said that the use of semiochemicals is ideal during the solitary and transitory phase of locusts.
Source:Pakistan Today
May 31, 2020 18:24 UTC